The Weight Room
by Pearl Earring
Summary: This is Alec at all ages. Before, during, and after the books. Mostly about relationships with Jace and then Magnus. Fluff. One Shots put together. Sad/Funny/Cute. Plot will mostly stick to books, but there may be some surprises along the way. Have Fun!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Pearl Earring Here! Review, Review, Review! Please? Pretty Please? Oh, I forgot. I always write to music, so each update will have a song that goes with it. You don't have to listen. Today's is: Dust Bowl Dance by Mumford and Sons. So here you go. My first Malec. And believe me, there will be Malec…**

The Weight Room

_Oh. _Oh_. That's why,_ Alec thought. _Oh god, I'm gay._ The boy had been sitting, watching a drop of sweat slide down Jace's back as he was doing pull-ups in the weight room. Alec had been staring at the drop as it swerved around those perfect muscles that no twelve-year-old should possess, when the realization hit him. Suddenly, he knew it. Deep down in his soul. Alec felt as if something in him had suddenly snapped, had become clear. He was gay. And now he knew it. And he hated it.

Alec's eyes grew wide. He started to hyperventilate as his porcelain skin grew even paler. _They are going to kill me. Hell, I feel like I'm going to kill me. Oh, god. I'm gay and I'm in love with Jace. Jace, the boy who could almost be my brother. The boy who always picks me up when I fall. The boy who is going to start teaching me how to spar tomorrow. I love him. He can't know. He CAN'T._

Alec's eyes suddenly focused. The world grew clearer around Jace's face. He looked curious and a little worried. Sunlight spilled onto his blue eyes, their depths glowing, framed by his golden hair. "Hey, Alec. Man, are you okay? You look like you just saw a Ravener." Alec startled at their close proximity, especially their lips, inches from each other. He turned a violent shade of red and instinctively jumped back. His heel caught on the leg of the metal bench he was sitting on, pushing his body over the edge. Alec ended up staring up at Jace from the floor of the weight room, his faced flushed and his chest heaving.

Jace just stood over him. He didn't laugh. He didn't smile. Alec saw the emotions run across his face like a news reel. He saw puzzlement, then realization, then the most violent anger, quickly came acceptance, then fascination. _He knows. Just when I found out, he found out. I'm horrible at this. This keeping my secret. Everyone will know just as soon as look at me. But it won't matter. _He_ knows. The only one that I really care about. I'm doomed._

Alec stood slowly, as if trying not to frighten Jace off. The other boy just stood, staring at him. "Look Jace, I…" But he was cut off by a round of roaring laughter that seemed to come from nowhere. It took Alec a few seconds to realize that it was coming from Jace's mouth. Tears were streaming down his face as the slightly younger boy clutched his stomach. Alec straightened up, alarmed, humiliated, and slightly indignant. _Geez, I am already _proud_ of being… different? _"What on earth could be so funny right now?" Alec demanded.

Jace resumed his pre-doubled over stance, wiping his eyes. "Oh, just the look on your face was priceless. God, you are as jumpy as a cat these days." Jace took a deep breath. "I must have startled you with my god-like good looks." The ego level in that statement was just high enough to tell Alec the truth. _Jace would have never said that if he knew my secret. If he knew, he would probably spit on me and call me a bundle of sticks. Or maybe he would ignore me entirely, never mentioning it again. He would _definitely_ not jokingly imply that I am gay._

"Ha, ha," Alec mumbled. Relief was like a tidal wave in his chest, threatening to pull him apart. He grew more confident as the seconds passed, sure that Jace didn't know. "Laugh it up, pretty boy. Just because I have the reflexes of a cobra and you don't…"

"Well, we'll see about that in the sparing ring tomorrow, won't we. Now, leave me. I have to get my beauty sleep before I kick the crap out of you tomorrow. Go on. Shoo."

"Ugh," Alec scoffed, yet he still high-tailed it out of there. He needed to be somewhere quiet, safe. So he could think over it all. The metal door loudly slammed behind him as he almost-ran from the weight room. And from Jace.

Jace looked after the escaping boy until he caught the last glimpse of his duck-taped converse rounding the hallway corner toward the west wing. The metal door banged shut behind Alec, silencing the squeaking of his shoes. When all traces of the older boy were gone, Jace sat down hard on the bench that Alec had just vacated.Jace had no experience with this, none at all. Growing up at the institute, he had rarely had time to socialize with people his age. His gaydar was not finely tuned at all. And yet, that look on Alec's face gave him no doubt. The only boy Jace had grown up with was in love with him.

"Why," Jace whispered. "Why did I have to do this? Why did I have to keep up the charade?" But Jace knew why. He knew perfectly well why. It was for Alec. Alec would probably rather kill himself than have Jace bring it up. And it was also for Jace. Jace didn't want to be the one to break Alec's heart. Just because he liked girls.

**P.S. If you don't know already, Google "bundle of sticks".**

**P.P.S. Review Please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2, Everybody!**

**P.S. I don't own MI (or anything else for that matter) at all. Ugh.**

**Song: Fix You, Coldplay**

Alec rounded a corner, sprinting toward his and Isabelle's wing of the Institute. The wallpaper blurred into streaks as Alec's converse pounded down the carpet-padded hallway. Tears were already streaming down his face when he burst into Izzy's room. She was sitting at her vanity mirror putting on Barbie-brand makeup when she heard the door slam open.

Alec saw the surprise on her multicolored face as she took in the sight of him. It was no wonder. _I bet I look like crap. _Alec glanced in her mirror on impulse, just to confirm his fears.

Alec's midnight-dark hair was defying gravity, sticking out at the sides and straight up at the top. His fighting gear was still on from training, except that it was dusty and looked slept in. A cut oozed blood from Alec's hand. _God, I didn't even notice. _What scared him the most, though, were his eyes. His usually calm deep-blue irises were hectic, the rest of his eyes were red and puffy, swollen. A sob escaped his chest.

Isabelle, snapping out of her second-long trance, came to his side and guided him onto her Cheetah Girls bedspread. "What is it Alec? What happened? Did you get stung, bit, scratched? Did Jace hit you too hard? Here, I'll get my stele." _Geez, just what I need right now. My sister playing my mom. Well, I guess she is just trying to help._

"No, Izzy. It's nothing like that."

"Well, what happened? Are you sure you didn't get hurt? You look pretty messed up. Here let me…

"No. Stop. I don't need an iratze. Just listen to me! Okay? Are you going to stop looking for demon stings?"

Izzy looked taken aback. "Yes?" It sounded more like a question than an answer to Alec's ears.

"Good." Alec took a long, shuddering breath, trying to blink away the tears. But the prospect of what he was going to do just made him start crying again. After a minute of this, Alec realized that he would have to give up on being macho during this _particular _conversation.

"Izzy, sissy, I think… I think… No. I know… Izzy. I'm gay."

Isabelle sat up straight like she had just been shocked by an empty socket and stared at him.

Alec sobbed so hard he almost threw up. The look on her face. That horrible look on her face. _It's all over. I'm done. Dead. She thinks I'm a freak. She'll tell mom. Oh, God. She'll tell _Dad_. No._ Isabelle looked scared of him. Bewildered. Slowly, her face relaxed again. That dreadful look on her face faded into something thoughtful and sad at the same time. She looked down at her hands as if to study them. Finally, after a pained silence, Isabelle Lightwood looked up at her brother.

"Alec. Alec, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I looked at you that way. I just… I've never met someone… Mom and Dad… I'm sorry. I'm ashamed of myself."

"It's okay, Iz. I think I would have looked at me that way too."

"Oh, Alec. You shouldn't say that. You've done nothing wrong. Hell, Alec. You should _Not _say that. You can't. Don't you dare start being ashamed or hating yourself for this. It's just the way you are. Neither you, nor I, nor anyone else can change it. And I don't think they should. Alec, you're perfect, just the way you are. And I love you, just the way you are. Nothing could change that. Especially not whether you like girls or boys."

Alec did not know that he had been holding his breath. He let it out in a whoosh and looked at his sister, half expecting her to take it all back. "You really think that?"

"I know it. With my whole heart." Tears ran down her cheeks, leaving tracks of mascara running down her face. The tiara that had been sitting on her jet-black hair was now slightly askew. Suddenly, she grabbed Alec's hand and pulled him closer to her. He rested his head on her shoulder and listened to their sobs mixing together in a harmony of relief.

When their tears had finally run their course, Alec broke the hug and curled up on Izzy's Cheetah-clad bed, using her new whip as a pillow. Isabelle hesitated for a moment and decided to go back to her vanity mirror, knowing that Alec was going to be okay without her.

"Izzy?" Alec asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"You said H-E-Double Hockey Sticks."

"It'll be our little secret."

Alec didn't quite know which secret she was talking about, but he knew that he would keep both of them hidden deep in his heart.

"Izzy?"

"What is it, Alec?"

"You look like a clown."

Isabelle sighed. "Yes, I know, Alec. I'm switching to Covergirl."

**Review Please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 Time!**

**This takes place three years after chapters one and two. Before Clary.**

**I don't own anything by Miss Cassandra Clare.**

**Thanks to everyone who made me a favorite and alerted me. A special shout out to my sister! Special thanks to all who reviewed me…**

**.hope (I love your stuff.)**

**-Bookworm24601(It means Hell, Bookworm. You know, H-E-double l? The hockey sticks are the l's. **** )**

**-Miss Regina Star (Thanks for threatening me with your wrath. I really wasn't going to keep writing this.)**

**Reviews are my own personal brand of heroin…**

**Song: Dynamite Steps, The Twilight Singers (A.K.A. the next U2) - The first 2 1/2 minutes of this are unspeakably beautiful. Just listen to that guitar. I know it doesn't really fit the mood, but I think that along with being violent, this chapter is really sad. To tell you the truth, I have no idea why I wrote this. I must be depressed. Well, maybe not. **** Okay. Rant over.**

Alec tugged an arrow from the quiver strapped to his back and nocked it to the bowstring, completely focused on the dummy. Alec took a breath, aimed for the throat, and let go of the string. The arrow sliced through the air and buried itself deep in the dummy's button eye. "Shit" Alec whispered, and nocked another arrow.

"You still would have killed it."

Surprised, Alec let go of the arrow without aiming. It sailed between the dummy's legs and bounced off the concrete wall behind it. He whirled around to find a laughing Jace standing in front of the only other target in the room. The boy's chuckles echoed in the Institutes' rather small archery range for a while. Then they subsided as Jace realized where he was standing, and what Alec had in his hands. Jace quickly stepped away from the bull's eye.

"I thought we were sparring today," Jace accused. "Shooting things does not go under the category of sparring in my book."

"Number one, archery is one-sided sparring. I intend on being on the one side. Number two, it doesn't matter whether I killed the dummy or not. The problem is that I missed by one foot. _One whole foot. _That can be the difference between life and death. What if that one foot could have saved Izzy? Or you… That's why I can't spar today. Besides, you're just going to win anyways. You always do." Alec shrugged and turned back to his one-eyed dummy. He sensed the disapproval coming off Jace in waves. Hearing the silence behind him, Alec instantly regretted those words. _I am a Shadowhunter. And Shadowhunters spar, no matter how suck they are at it. _

Jace's voice grew soft. "Alec, do you really think I would let you give up fighting because I beat you every time? If you really think that, you're mad." Then, returning to his usual snarky and sarcastic self, Jace added, "Anyways, even if I do kick the crap out of you, I am an exceptionally good fighter. So maybe _you're_ just average. Come on. Spar with me."

"Again."

Alec inwardly groaned as they resumed position. Jace started to circle Alec on the balls of his feet. Alec slowly turned, watching him, waiting for the inevitable attack. Suddenly, Jace sprung. Alec blocked him instinctively, only to realize that he was grappling with air. Alec spun around to find Jace crouched on the floor kung-fu style, his leg swinging out towards Alec's face.

_Hello ground, my old friend. Pleased to make your acquaintance. _Alec clutched his newly blackened eye, groaning and spat out blood.

"Jesus, Alec. I'm sorry. Here, you need an iratze." Jace pulled his stele out of his back pocket and drew the rune on Alec's bruised cheekbone, pushing down too hard. The battered boy hissed in pain as the char-colored mark sank beneath his skin, taking the battle scars with it. Once the marks were gone, Jace sat back on his haunches, leaving Alec to sit with his head in his hands.

"Are you okay?" Jace asked him.

"Yes."

"Then have another go."

"No."

"What?"

"No, Jace. I'm done." Alec ran his hands through his sweaty hair, completely spent. They had been at it for hours and Alec had not won a match yet. They always ended with either Alec on the floor, bleeding, or in one rather more memorable case, Alec on the ceiling, bleeding. _When I was younger, I thought this was going to be horrible, or at least awkward, having to keep my little secret with Jace continually pinning me down and pushing me up against walls, but it's just gotten tiring._

"Come on. Fight back, Alec."

"No," whispered Alec.

"Come on. Fight back!"

"No," Alec said more forcefully.

"FIGHT BACK, GODDAMNIT!"

Alec looked up. The figure towering over him was terrifying. Jace looked livid. His beautiful face was twisted into a glare that could melt metal. And it was directed at Alec. Staring at Jace, Alec suddenly couldn't suppress his rage. At Jace for tempting him, at his parents for not understanding, and at the Clave for suppressing him. But Alec was mostly mad at himself for being ashamed. Jace's fury had set fire to the dry kindling that was Alec's mind and heart. Alec was sick of hiding. He just wanted to be free.

Bellowing his frustration, Alec jumped the unsuspecting Jace and wrestled him to the floor. Alec grabbed the collar of Jace's black shirt and screamed at him.

"I'M TIRED OF FIGHTING BACK! I'M TIRED OF FIGHTING, JACE." Alec was almost in tears. _I will not cry in front of him. I will NOT._

"Why do I always have to fight, Jace? Why?"

Jace just stared back, unable to speak.

"I…I'm…What?" Jace finally choked out.

"Never mind. You wouldn't understand." Alec let go of Jace's collar and moved off from on top of him, still fighting back tears. Jace stood and brushed his gear off. He looked at the broken boy on the ground and turned to leave. Alec made a sound that could almost be a sob.

Jace walked halfway to the door and suddenly turned around, heading back to Alec. When he reached him, Jonathan Christopher Wayland crouched down and looked into Alec's eyes.

"You think I've never had to fight, Alec? You think that you're the only one? Well, I'll tell you a secret. I had to fight my father every day. You know, I actually thought that what he said was right, that to love _is _to destroy, but now I don't think so. I had to fight him for what I thought was right. Hell, Alec. I had to fight him for my sanity. But I learned something from him. I learned a very important thing. People should not hold you down. It's wrong. And yet they do. It is your job to rebel. To teach them the error of their ways. This is why Shadowhunters fight, Alec. Alec, this is why you must fight. And even though we spar, you know that I'll always have your back. Parabatai forever."

Alec stared at Jace, in shock. _"_You didn't say one sarcastic thing in that speech."

Jace held out his hand to his adoptive brother, helping him up. "Don't worry big bro, it won't happen again." Alec laughed. They started walking companionably out of the sparring ring and through the weight room.

"I guess we'll stop fighting for today and go play some Mario Kart."

"That sounds perfectly fine to me."


End file.
